Monday, May 8, 2017

What You Need to Know About the Newly Elected French President Emmanuel Macron

From The Wall Street Journal:
Like the former British Prime Minister, Mr. Macron emerged from a traditional left-wing party that prizes ideology above electability. Like Mr. Blair, he argues that old, left-right political divisions are outdated. Like Mr. Blair, he promises a novel combination of market economics and progressive values. And like Mr. Blair, he is startlingly vague about how it will actually work.

There are, of course, differences. Mr. Blair promised not to raise taxes. Mr. Macron says he will cut them and trim spending too...

Messrs. Blair and Macron are also both good cosmopolitan liberals, staunchly supportive of immigration and European integration.
And here is where it get juicy.


Via The Spectator:
If Macron’s unique selling point is unclear, his unique talking point is that he married his former school teacher, a lady 24 years older than him. This startling fact, when first encountered, tends to bring political discussion to a halt, while all pause for a few moments of profound reflection. His latest fan is Ségolène Royal. Ségolène is the current minister of the environment, and, by chance, she too is 24 years older than the dynamic new arrival. She has repeatedly spoken of her affection and admiration for Macron. Ségolène was the defeated Socialist presidential candidate of 2007, but last week she urged the party’s voters to ignore their own candidate, Benoît Hamon — a hardline leftist sacked as education minister by Valls in 2014 — and back Macron instead.

Macron has not just divided the Socialists, he has replaced them. So how has this apparently isolated and underfunded individual managed all this in such a short time? It is clear that Macron has powerful supporters behind the scenes, and a clue may lie in the little-discussed fact that some years ago he was identified as a member of ‘les Gracques’ — a discreet centre-left pressure group loosely staffed by influential chief executives and civil service mandarins. They are pro-market socialists who long ago gave up on the Socialist party. Many are fellow ‘énarques’ (graduates of ENA) and every step of Macron’s career could have been directed by them. Spotted as a brilliant and charming student, Macron could first have been launched into the prestigious state Finance Inspectorate, then switched into Rothschild to gain business experience (and wealthy support) and then placed like a time bomb in Hollande’s outer office, where he ticked away until he could be moved into the heart of the Valls government. Last August he finally exploded into action at the perfect moment to cause maximum damage to Hollande, Valls and the entire Socialist presidential election campaign. Macron’s rise bears all the hallmarks of a classic ENA undercover operation, a fundamental part of the énarques’ stock-in-trade and one in which the country’s leading bureaucrats are cynically trained.
   -RW 

5 comments:

  1. So, a classic "conspiracy Theory" from The SPECTATOR??? Not to mention the WSJ??? Hmmmm...

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  2. The Spanish libertarian Juan Ramon Rallo places Macron's win in its proper perspective. He wrote on his facebook page:

    "What did survive, last Sunday in France, was a social-democratic coalition facing an unhinged threat from a Fascist-like nationalism. Nothing more than that. It's thus very difficult for a [libertarian] to be exited by Macron except as someone who defeated a much worse alternative. Sometimes not moving backwards looks like progress."

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    1. The entire world is upside-down. The political establishment now sounds sensible and libertarian compared to the insane authoritarian populists (both wings.)

      Never in my life did I think I'd agree with these goons as much as I do now. And I can't say I'm comfortable with them serving as a backstop to totalitarianism. They are not classical liberals, and I feel like it's only a matter of time until they find a way to channel the populist outrage towards serving their own ends.

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  3. According to colleague testimony from the Financial Times, Macron did not know what ebitda was when he entered investment banking.
    What he lacked in technical knowledge he made up for in government contacts.
    Relegated to Excel financial modeling as a junior analyst for a deal with the French company Atos, he was instantly made a partner while working this deal.
    A few months later, he had a role in orchestrating the finances for Nestle's purchase of Pfizer's infant food operations.
    A true bankster crony who's been groomed for this role for years.

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  4. France is facing a more existential threat than any of them are talking about. If things continue as they are, within not many generations, Paris is destined to become the center of the new European Caliphate.

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